the number of H5N1 bird flu cases found in Switzerland to date come to 33

The Swiss government recently officially announced that they had had their first case of the bird flu virus in the last two years. A wild duck was tested by the Swiss federal veterinary department and found to contain the deadly H5N1 virus. The duck was found on Lake Sempach which is near the city of Lucern while health officials were carrying out routine detection tests. While the duck definitely had the virus it was not actually showing symptoms of the illness.

The Swiss health authorities said that they were taking great care to minimise the possible spread of the disease and that no further measures were needed following this case. In all the number of H5N1 bird flu cases found in Switzerland to date come to 33.

On a more serious note a bit further away from home reports are coming into the newsroom that a fifteen year old boy in Indonesia has died from the bird flu virus. Unfortunately the boy had been brought to hospital when he was already very ill and was already having difficulty breathing. He was unconscious and had already suffered severe lung damage and so even though Tamiflu was administered it was too late.

For Tamiflu to be effective it should be administered within the first 48 hours of the disease entering the body and preferably within the first 24 hours. Unfortunately the boy had been misdiagnosed four days earlier at a different hospital as having dengue fever with doctors at this hospital claiming that his younger brother had died from it.

Over 100 people have died from the bird flu illness in Indonesia according to official statistics and some people say that the proper figure is much higher. Samples from the infected fifteen year old boy will be couriered to the Ministry of Health in Indonesia to confirm whether the virus has changed or mutated in any way. It is also likely that some samples will be fowarded to the World Health Organisation so that the data on the virus can be updated.